


When The Party Ends

by lgbtsainte



Category: Jenna McDougall - Fandom, Taylor Jardine - Fandom, Tonight Alive, We Are the In Crowd
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-28
Updated: 2017-04-28
Packaged: 2018-10-25 03:10:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10755513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lgbtsainte/pseuds/lgbtsainte
Summary: Alcohol is able to have profound effects on the brain, causing you to forget things. Maybe even the greatest thing that had ever happened to you.





	When The Party Ends

 Chapter 1: Back When We Didn't Know Anything

* * *

The smell of the room alone was enough to get me drunk: a concoction of sexual tension and watered down beer. The idea of sweaty, hormone drenched bodies awkwardly pressed against each other, swaying out of time to overplayed house music, was anything but appealing to me, yet I tagged along to the party anyway. 

"This beer tastes like shit." I breathed, leaning over the island that stood in the centre of the kitchen, so that Rose could hear me. 

"Who cares what it tastes like?" Rose retorted, taking a swig so prolonged that the rim of the cup left a paled line across the bridge of her nose. "If it gets me drunk, then that's all that matters." 

I nodded in response, mumbling a simple "true", before taking another sip of whatever I was drinking. If I was going to be at this party for any longer than an hour, getting drunk was probably the only option to make the time bearable. I sipped again. 

"So remind me, why did you want me to come with you so badly?" 

Rose's face strained as she struggled to make her voice audible over the music. "What was that? You're glad I made you come with me because you wanted to be at the party so badly?" Her sarcasm was obvious. I hated her sarcasm. "You're so welcome!" 

She paused to rest her elbow on the island and scan around the room. "Come on, Jen, it's not even that bad. Plus, there are a shit tonne of hot people here. Just enjoy it." She ended her sentence with a cheer and a chug of her drink. Maybe she was right, perhaps it wouldn't be so bad.

Rose was smaller than me, and frailer, so the task of getting drunk was easier for her than it was for me. By ten o'clock, she'd bypassed my tipsy state and had already endured an hour of grinding against horny teenage boys, while simultaneously holding my hand as she "didn't want to lose me". I kept my arm extended the whole time, trust me, but even then guys took that as an invitation to try and grind on me too. I lost count after the first ten times I told the drunk, sweaty frat boys that I was gay. The rest was simply a blur.

As the night continued and my energy levels plummeted, I had managed to wrench my hand from a clearly plastered Rose, before making my way into the slightly quieter games room round the back of the house. I planted myself on a sofa that stood against the wall at the back of the room, out of the way from the game of beer pong that was unfolding a few feet in front of me.

I folded one leg over the other, watching the game contently from a comfortable distance, sipping at my drink that had been constantly refilled by Rose and her new drunken acquaintances. 

The game consisted of two crowds of boys, each strategically placed at either end of a dollar store ping pong table. Triangles of red cups stood proudly at both ends, mocking the drunkards for not being able to win the game that would tug them further into a migraine the next morning.

Every so often, one side of the boys would cheer, and one lucky guy would down whatever was in the cup. As they did so, I played from afar, taking a swig myself. 

This continued for what I can only assume was around half an hour, until a girl strutted in, rolled her plaid sleeves up and joined the group of guys with their backs to me. I was fixated by her presence before I even saw her features. 

She was good. _Exceedingly good._ So good that I felt myself glaring, envious of the ease she displayed while simultaneously crushing the opposing group. 

Almost every time she bounced the ball towards the opposite cups, it would obediently plop into one of them, earning a cheer from the brunette. Every time except one, when she launched the ball a little too hard, causing it to ricochet from the corner of the table, straight in my direction. 

"Fuck," she cursed under her breath, swinging around to face me. "Sorry." She chuckled as she knelt down before me to grab the ball that I'd barricaded from going under the sofa with my boot. 

"No worries." I spoke, tapping my cup against my bottom lip, trying to mask the smirk that was tugging at it. 

She clearly noticed my smirk, as she shot one back at me, her eyes glinting a little as she did so. I swallowed the remainder of my drink, all while keeping eye contact with the girl that was still crouched in front of me. 

"You should probably get back to your game." I mused, resting my now empty cup on my thigh and chuckling breathily at the sight of twenty frat guys scoffing. "They need the ball." My head tilted forward, motioning at the ping pong ball that the girl held in her fist. 

She blushed a little. It wasn't very noticeable, but I was so mesmerised by her that I would see even the slightest quiver of her lips or the gentlest flutter of her eyelids. 

"Hey, come on! Get your ass back here!" One of the taller guys hollered, waving his arm towards the brunette that was still facing me. 

She stood up and retreated backwards a few steps. She was relatively short, with hazelnut coloured hair that trailed just below her shoulder blades. Knitting her brows in hesitation for a brief second, she lifted her hand and gestured over her shoulder. "Do you wanna, like, join us?" She seemed somewhat tentative, yet her spark of confidence was endearing. 

I became conscious of my heartbeat's increasing speed as she spoke. The rasp in her voice was enough to make me weak at the knees, but I disregarded any thoughts as I stood up, uttering a simple "sure", followed by a smile.

 _Play it cool, Jen._ I thought, as the ball was handed to me. _All you have to do is bounce it._

The idea of being anxious over beer pong was a ridiculous one, even for me. It wasn't the game itself that made my stomach erupt in a frenzy, rather the girl that stood in front of me, eyes fixed on my hands, teeth gently pressed onto her bottom lip. 

The tension grew as my frozen state lasted for ten seconds... twenty seconds... thir-

My panic was quickly terminated by the sound of shoes tapping against the tiled floor, coming in my direction. "Do you know how to play?" The rasp that caressed my ear from merely an inch away sent shivers down my limbs and into my fingers, causing me to tense up all over. 

The hint of sarcasm in her voice led me to believe that she was challenging me, so I accepted. "Of course, I was just giving you some time to prepare yourself for the loss." I smiled devilishly, shifting a little to my right to face the girl that stood in front of me, eyebrow slightly raised.

Feeling her breath so close to my face ignited a form of deviance in me as I raised my eyebrow in reciprocation, earning cheers and whoops from the groups surrounding us. "You wanna bet?" She purred, leaning in a little closer.

"What's the bet?" I jeered, curious as to what she was thinking.

"If I win..." she paused, placing her hands on her hips and licking her lips briefly. " _You_ have to kiss me." 

I nodded in acceptance, "And if you lose?" 

"Oh please. I never lose."

As the game progressed, both the brunette and I, who I later identified as Tay, due to the guys constantly chanting her name every time she was in possession of the ball, were getting increasingly intoxicated. 

We had reached a tie by midnight, and the two bundles of guys hadn't dwindled. Probably because they just wanted the opportunity to see two drunk girls make out but, at that point I was honestly _too_ drunk to notice. 

It was all down to this final moment. Two single red cups were left on the table, one on each end, and Tay clutched the ball in her left hand, which was surprisingly steady for someone who'd been drinking for almost three hours straight. Either it took a lot for her to be as drunk as I was, or she just _really_ wanted to kiss me. 

I rested my palms on the table as Tay took the shot, releasing the ball strategically and staring intently at it as it bounced directly into my cup. 

Excitement sparked in my stomach as Tay's gaze drifted from the ball and up to my eyes. The crowds cheered a burly shout and shifted apart from Tay and I, as I felt myself laugh breathily and follow her with my eyes as she made her way towards me. 

"Told you I never lose." She hummed, her hands gently cupping my waist. 

The guys fell silent, and the room calmed, but seeing Tay this close whipped my stomach into a frenzy. "I guess you're right." My voice was almost inaudible. I felt myself choking on my words, until her face inched closer to mine, and her lips hovered merely millimetres from me. 

She was hesitant again, as though her cocky exterior melted in my grasp. I seized the silence and cradled her cheeks in my palms, closing the gap between us and crashing my lips against her own.

I felt her relax as I straightened my arms and hung them over her shoulders, pulling her closer to me. 

The mist of alcohol and emotions clouded between us, isolating us in a false sense of being alone. The kiss continued, and I felt Tay becoming breathless, so I pulled away a little, sending us plummeting back down to reality.

"So," she panted, not lightening her grip on me. "What would you have had me do if you won?" 

I reconnected our lips again for a brief second, leaning into her, before replying, "I guess you'll never know." 

My own liquid courage surprised me, but I seemed to be having some kind of effect on Tay, as she seemed intrigued, yet taken aback, by my response. She smiled though, edging closer to me again. 

"I guess," she whispered, tilting slightly so her lips brushed against my ear. "You'll have to show me sometime." And with that, she slipped from my grasp with a wink and melted into the crowd of guys in front of us.

I chuckled to myself and turned on my heels, shuffling through the huddle behind me and re-entering the front room. 

I ran a hand through my hair and approached a table at the side of the room, grasping a paper cup and filling it with alcohol. 

"Enjoying yourself?" A fair haired muscular boy bellowed, throwing his arm over my shoulder. It was Matt.

To say I jumped would be an understatement. 

"I am, yeah." I smirked, taking a sip of whatever was in my cup. 

Matt's jaw dropped and he stepped back in a dramatic state of shock. "Did I just hear you, Jenna, say you're enjoying a party?" 

I glanced down at my feet as my smirk evolved into a smile. "You did." 

"Well I'll be damned." He stepped forward and clutched my shoulder in pride. "My Jen's all grown up." 

"Oh, piss off." I mused, walking with Matt to two empty spots on a sofa.

The two of us engaged in comfortable small talk for a while, laughing every once in a while at some drunkard's dance moves.

It didn't feel like long until the atmosphere became heavy due to the clouds of alcohol breath, and the tone-deaf singing of the crowds fell silent as the shrouds parted into two.

The situation that caused the silence became apparent: one particular guy had become rowdy and socked another intoxicated guy right in the jaw. He then bellowed at his opponents reaction and swung on the spot, forcing his attention onto Rose. He lunged at her, grabbing her waist and grinding against her. The sight of it made my body writhe, as infuriation flooded me and I shot forward. 

"What the _fuck_ are you doing?" I hissed, throwing myself at the boy and shoving him off of Rose. 

Matt stood behind us, ready to grab this asshole if he tried to do anything stupid. 

The people around us dissipated, leaving room for me to grab him by his shirt collar and force him away from a shaken Rose. "You piece of shit!" I spat.

"Hey, why you gotta ruin a good time?" The guy, Alex, slurred. He shifted his hips towards me, leading my stomach to shift with them, dodging his disgusting attempt at a grind. 

"Alex, back the fuck up." I recognised her voice before she even approached us. Tay. 

Alex glared over my shoulder at her, his shirt still bunched in my fists. I released the material, forcing him back a step. 

"Are you deaf?" Tay edged towards me, and I felt her palm gently press against my back. "I said, _back the fuck up."_  

I noticed the imminent sobriety in his eyes as he held his hands up in surrender. The crowds _oohed_ as Alex admitted defeat, before scuttling away through the sea of people and presumably out the front door. 

"Thanks babe." Rose's voice was almost as slurred as Alex's, the vowels in 'babe' prolonged and the consonants messy. 

"I think _someone's_ had enough, don't you?" Tay giggled, her hand slipping from my back and onto Rose's shoulder. 

"I agree." I joined them, supporting Rose by sliding my arm around her waist. She slung hers around my shoulder and did the same to Tay, as we escorted her from the front room.

"You guys gunna be okay?" Matt asked from across the room, giving us a thumbs up.

"All good! Thanks buddy!" I called back, carrying Rose down the hall.

The crowds resumed their drunken dancing as if nothing had happened. 

"You, on the other hand," Tay hummed behind Rose as she leant forward in order to steady herself, "I'm not done with you yet." She threw a wink over Rose's shoulder as she stood up straight again. 

I had no chance to respond, as getting Rose up the stairs and into a bed was a challenge in itself.

Luckily Tay knew the guy who threw the party, so she assured me that he wouldn't mind Rose crashing here as we were trying to roll the reluctant girl in the covers. 

"Jordan won't mind, honestly. He'll probably sleep all day tomorrow so chances are he won't even notice she stayed here." Tay spoke reassuringly as we managed to tuck Rose in.

She fell asleep faster than my alcohol levels were plummeting. 

"Why the solemn expression?" Tay asked, sitting beside me on the bed. 

"I'm sobering up." I huffed, dropping my hands onto my thighs and sighing. 

"I think we can change that." Tay seemed relatively sober too, which she didn't seem to be too disappointed by. She looked as though she was down to drink with me though, as she got up and beckoned for me to follow.

I did so, flicking off the light and whispering a _goodnight_ to Rose.

Tay lead me into a room that was down the hallway to where Rose slept. The walls were a hazy blue, powdering the room with a cool tone and instantly relaxing me. A four poster bed stood proudly against the back wall, opposite what Tay displayed as a " _fucking awesome wine cabinet."_

Her expression was somewhat glorified, as in reality it was just a chest of drawers with an abundance of alcohol bottles strewn on the surface. But I wasn't complaining, there was enough there to drink us both into oblivion. 

After four or five beers each, we both came to the conclusion that neither of us knew anything about the other. I wasn't sure if she even knew my name.

"So how many more times am I gunna have to flirt with you before you tell me your name?" Tay spoke, the rasp in her voice resonating through her half empty beer bottle. 

I rested my head against the headboard and chuckled, outstretching my legs until they almost overlapped with Tay's. 

"My name's Jenna." I smiled a toothy smile. 

 _"Jenna."_ She repeated, replicating my smile. "That's cute." 

I felt my cheeks fluster as she giggled at the sight. 

"Great! I know a whole one thing about you." The brunette jeered, the corners of her lips tugging her features into that all-too-familiar smirk. 

She paused, her eyes not breaking from my gaze for a second. I watched them light up. "We should play truth or dare! That way we can really get to know each other..." Her voice trailed off as her stare faded from my eyes and onto the rim of her bottle. 

The complexity of this girl was immense. One minute, she was hot as hell, flirting with all the lines under the sun, and the next, her cheeks would tinge with scarlet and she would sink back into her own shell. 

"I'd love to." I reassured her. "You first." 

"Okay, I choose truth." 

"How old are you?" I asked. I figured I'd start off easy. 

"I'm twenty. Truth or dare?" She crossed her legs and balanced her bottle in between them, placing her palms over her knees. 

"Truth." I sipped my beer. 

"Have you ever kissed a girl?" She asked, a glint of mischief in her hazel eyes. She also took a drink. "Besides me?"

"Do you really think I could kiss you so intensely with no experience? How dare you." I began to become aware of how much I was drinking, and how the alcohol levels in my blood were causing my confidence levels to soar. I wasn't complaining, though. 

I saw the girl quiver and press her teeth into her lip again, as she did earlier during beer pong. I found myself staring.

"It was a good kiss." She spoke, moving her lips to reveal small indentations in her bottom one.

"Truth or dare?" I felt my heart rate begin to quicken as I took another drink.

As the word "dare" crept from her lips, I felt a wash of spontaneity drench me. Before my thoughts could catch up with my mouth, I had already uttered the phrase, _"I dare you to kiss me... Again."_

Her reactions led me to believe that my speech had ignited something within her, that she had been trying so hard to suppress for what felt like a lifetime. 

She had dropped her bottle beside the bed and untangled her legs from beneath her, and was crawling up to me. Her knees located themselves at either side of my hips and I found my hands entwining my fingers in the slack of her plaid shirt. 

She laced her hands around my face and brushed her lips against my own, as if asking for assurance. I nodded gently in her grasp and she used this gesture to pull me into the kiss, her lips moulding into my own. 

Her lips were like water, sliding between my own, forcing me to continue as it was the only way to stop her from slipping away. The tenderness of her kiss was invaluable, as I tugged on her shirt in an attempt to pull her even deeper into the embrace. 

The last thing I remember was sliding her plaid shirt down the curves of her body and admiring every inch of her. A tattoo embroidered her lower arm and a nose ring complimented her warm features, but that was all I could remember of her. 

When I awoke the next morning with tangled hair and clothes tiling the floor, I had no recollection of the previous events.

Of the girl that had graced me with her kiss or the guy that had almost met my fists. I lost that entire night of my life. 


End file.
